2013 Rewind - AMOK

Our 2013 began in December 2012 with the announcement of the debut album by Atoms For Peace, a new band fronted by Thom Yorke and featuring the talents of Nigel Godrich, Flea, Mauro Refosco and Joey Waronker. The artwork for the new album, AMOK, was created by longtime Thom Yorke collaborator, Stanley Donwood and he collaborated with INSA to create the Hollywood Dooom GIF - essentially turning XL’s LA office into a work of art. Donwood’s artwork became an eerie animation on the Atoms website, with special gifts hidden on it for eagle-eyed fans. The band’s first single the sly Default, was followed by the snaking Judge Jury & Executioner in January.

Thom & Nigel performed a series of club shows in London, Berlin & New York, and the band’s first music video for the limber Ingenue featured Thom dancing beautifully with Fukiko Takase, choreographed by Wayne McGregor and directed by Garth Jennings. The week before AMOK was released Thom & Nigel took to Reddit for a wildly popular AMA interview. The interview ended with the surprise launch of the AMOK album stream encouraged fans to run AMOK on the internet, sharing the stream with those shares being sucked back into the stream’s bizarre real-time visualiser. AMOK arrived in the world with a little help from Glitchr. AMOK entered the US Billboard Album Chart at number two.

The band regrouped in LA to rehearse for their first tour, regularly transmitting from their rehearsal room. A series of triumphant live shows followed, including a residency at London’s Roundhouse which was accompanied by the temporary opening of the Atoms For Peace Drawing Room, a live art space across the road from the venue where bespoke vinyl and art pieces were created for fans. The beautiful animated video for Before Your Very Eyeswas premiered by the band at their Hollywood Bowl show before being discovered by fans, hidden on Atoms website.

"Atoms is a ongoing and open ended project, where it leads i know not for certain... which is what is nice about it.” Thom Yorke